Changes
by GirlX2
Summary: Egon's experiments have landed him in big trouble this time. Rated T for mild language and angst. Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1

"Changes"

By GirlX2

Dedicated to all the wonderful writers of RGB fanfic. Note, this is my first real foray into 'serious' RGB fic. My previous fic (BJvs GB)was a bit O' fluff I wrote for fun, and my next one will also befunny (I hope...) Enjoy!

-

Ray sat quietly as Egon studied his brain scan.

"Nothing. Completely empty." Egon slid his glasses up his nose.

"Ha ha." Ray rolled his eyes. "No effect?"

The scientist shook his head. Ray sighed.

"You'd think after all these years we'd of figured out what this stuff does."

The two scientists stared futilely at the giant tub of ectoplasm they'd collected over the years. The ghostly residue never changed, whether left in the oven, the fridge, the open air--even when ingested, Ray thought, remembering an unfortunate incident with the slime & some salad dressing.

It was the most infuriating mystery they'd ever encountered. Peter had given up on the stuff a long time ago. To him, it was merely an inconvenience. Ray supposed the nickname 'Slime Magnet' hadn't inspired much curiosity in the other Doctor.

"Well, another day." Egon began shelving the various equipment.

Ray began to towel off the substance. "I'm gonna be in the shower for the next hour or so."

"Understood."

-

Ray lay sprawled on the couch, watching TV.

"Janine we've been over this a thousand times-"

"I don't want to hear it Egon." Janine Melnitz stalked from the kitchen into the living room. "It's already been established your precious experiments come before me."

"That's not fair Janine." Egon said, hurrying after her. "I'm very close to finding out how prolonged exposure to ectoplasm effects common household fungi."

"Yes, I can see how that's more important than our anniversary!" Janine snapped. "When you're done playing with your mushrooms, look me up. I'll be the one in the dress."

"Fungi." Egon stated.

Janine glared at him, turned on her heels and stormed out. The door slamming could be heard throughout the firehouse.

"Smooth." Ray commented.

"She's emotional." Ray muttered. "Possibly PMS."

"The excuse of clueless men everywhere." Peter Venkman walked into the room.

Egon stiffened. "How much did you hear?"

"Well, I started listening at ectoplasm, and managed to catch 'insensitive Bastared' on the way out." Peter grinned.

Egon sighed. "She just doesn't understand the importance of my work."

"Egon, maybe the fungi could wait a few days. You probably should apologize." Ray told him.

The door swung open as the fourth Ghostbuster came in.

"What's up with Janine? She nearly bit my head off when I asked her how she was."

"Spengs is ditching her for 'shrooms." Peter nodded at Egon.

Egon turned slightly red. "Fungi."

Winston shook his head. "Sometimes I'm amazed you have a girlfriend at all Egon."

Egon shook his head and left the room.

"She's gonna dump his ass if he doesn't pay more attention to her." Winston said.

"For the brains of the operation he's pretty damn clueless." Peter agreed.

-

Egon sat quietly, various vials bubbling away all around him.

'She just doesn't understand. With the results of this research, I may be able to cure some serious diseases, even prolong lifespan!'

He checked the readings on several tubes.

'This oriental mushroom mix seems a bit temperamental. The stability reading has spiked.'

He moved to remove the mix from the burner.

A glob of greenish liquid bubbled over the side.

'That's not-'

The vial exploded in a haze of green. The ooze showered down on the scientist.

"OW! Son of a..." Egon removed his glasses.

The goop had covered all his visible skin, and his clothes. He sighed wearily.

"Back to the drawing board."

-

Peter slowly opened his eyes. He slid out of bed, noting that Egon was still in his. Usually Spengs was the first one up.

'Well, after last night its hardly a wonder he's sleeping in.'

Peter quietly moved past the lump of covers, as not to wake him.

"What's on the schedule today?" He asked as Janine handed him the worksheet.

"Two class 3 non repeaters, a class 2 repeater, and a class 5 poltergeist." Janine said mechanically. Her eyes, somewhat puffier than usual, never left the stack of papers.

"You alright Melnitz?"

"Never better." Janine kept her eyes low & swept from the room.

Peter clucked his tongue. "Oh what a tangled web we weave."

Ray and Winston sat quietly, studying various papers.

"Look at this Zedd. 'GB's review 'BeetelJuice'. Too True?'." Ray said through a mouthful of egg.

"Mm." Winston nodded. "Very funny."

Peter sat down.

"Spengs still not up yet?" The darker man asked  
"Nope, and I'm not getting him. After his little 'accident' last night, he crashed." Peter said.

"He was coated in ectoplasm." Winston chuckled. "Ray, you giving him those particular mushrooms isn't gonna make him too happy with you."

" 'Shrooms, Ray?" Peter cocked an eyebrow. "Is there something you'd like to share with the group?"

"I use them in omelets, okay? They stimulate freshness in eggs." Ray said uncomfortably.

"So young. So tragic." Peter wiped a mock tear from his eye. "Fine, I'll get Egon."

He climbed back up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Good morning star shine." Peter shook the lump of covers. "Time to bust some ghosts."

"M'up." A voice said throatily.

"Good, because we've got a class five on the menu, not to mention Janine is still pissed." Peter walked to the fire pole.

The lump groaned. It pushed the covers aside.

"Peter, I really don't want to hear it."

Peter gaped at the speaker.

A small boy was sitting in Egon's bed. Light blond curls spilled into his eyes. He wiped them aside, yawned sleepily, and put on Egon's glasses.

The boy swung his legs over the side of the bed. His eyes slowly traveled downwards, resting on his feet which didn't touch the floor. He shifted his gaze to his sleeves, which protruded far past his hands.

"Peter." The boy said, obviously struggling not to panic. "Is everything bigger or did I get smaller?"

Peter's mouth dried. "Who are you?"  
The boy's eyes jumped to the scientist. "Peter, its me!"  
"Who's me?" Peter lurched away from the pole, dreading the answer.

"Egon Spengler!"

"You can't be Egon. Egon is old enough to be your father!" Peter's voice rose. "Who are you? What are you?"  
"I am Egon Spengler!" The boy argued. "I'll prove it. Ask me anything."

"Mother's maiden name?"

"Neil!"

"Father's birthday?"

"August 22nd, 1929!"

Peter thought for a moment. A clever imposter could find out those things easily. There was one thing that could prove it...

"Childhood fear."

The boy stopped cold. "What?"

"What is Egon Spengler's childhood fear?"

"Peter, please." The boy paled.

"What is it? If you're really Egon, you'll know."

The blue eyes slowly slid toward the closet.

"Don't make me say it." He fidgeted uncomfortably.

Peter felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh God. Egon."

Egon slipped from the bed.

"What happened to me?" He squeaked.

"You look like you're six years old." Peter said slowly.

"What?"

"You're a little kid."

Egon began to run towards the hall mirror, not accounting for his oversized pajamas. He slipped and fell onto the wooden floor.

"Ow!" He grabbed his knee.

"Jeeze Spengs, are you alright?"

Egon winced "Perhaps a minor abrasion..."

He rolled the pant leg above his knee. Blood oozed from a large scrape. He made a grab for the glasses that were rapidly sliding down his nose. His eyes watered slightly.

"C'mon Egon, lets get you some band aids." Peter scooped the small scientist into his arms and carried him into the bathroom.

"Peter, no, I'm okay, really..." Egon shook his head futilely as Peter set him down.

"You're in tears!"

"Well, it hurts!"

Peter grabbed the first-aid kit.

"It's cool Egon, I'll have you fixed up in a second."

"I can do it myself." Egon grimaced as Peter poured peroxide on the cut.

"I know you can, this is just quicker."

Egon sat scrubbing the tears from his eyes as Peter finished doctoring the wound.

"Better?"

"Thank you." Egon repositioned his pant leg.

Peter glanced out the door. "They'll be up soon to see what's happened...What do we tell them?"

"Tell them I'm me."

"No, I mean, how did this happen?"

Egon thought for a moment. "It must have been the explosion last night. The mushroom's Ray gave me are supposed to help increase life expectancy if eaten on a regular basis, according to legend."

"That doesn't explain why you've been mini-sized."

"Maybe the ectoplasm mutated the effect, resulting in..." Egon stared at himself in the mirror. "This."

Peter nodded. "It's a possibility."

Egon's eyes leaped to Peter's. "You can't tell Janine."

"What? Egon, when she sees you she's going to figure it out!"

"She's not going to see me."

"Egon-"

"Damnit, I'm not going to have Janine see me in this state!" Egon yelled.

Peter stared at the boy. "Alright Egon, take it easy."

Egon took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I can't see her like this."

Peter nodded. "Okay Spengs."

-

END OFCHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter 2

"Changes"

By GirlX2

Chapter Two (now with Disclaimer!)

I own nothing! And thanks to my reviewer DuranDuranfan4life. :)

Ray and Winston stared at Egon as he finished his explanation.

"So...are you stuck like that?" Winston finially choked out.

"I don't know. I think I can make an antidote." Egon said.

"And you're planning on hiding from Janine the entire time you're stuck like this." Ray said doubtfully.

"It would only worry her needlessly if she knew. Either I'm stuck this way or I'm not, so there's no sense making a fuss."

"Egon, I'm all for staying calm, but this is nuts!" Winston argued. "She's going to know something is wrong when you don't go on today's busts."

Egon sighed. "I guess it would be inadvisable to work in this state. I don't think I could lift a proton pack, much less fire accurately."

"It'll just give you time to work out an antidote." Peter said.

Egon nodded. "If I repeat the experiment, I think I can synthesize one."

Ray paled. "Egon, you can't! If you get splattered with that stuff again there might not be anything left to administer an antidote to!"

Egon sighed, weary with explanations. "I'm just going to re-heat the formula to the boiling point. I don't _have _to be doused again."

"Oh." Ray turned slightly pink.

"Okay, I'll tell Janine you're sick or something...she ever had chicken pox?" Peter asked slyly.

"I believe not."

"Alright, we're in business." Peter stood. "You sure you can handle things here by yourself?"

"Peter, I've been using equipment similar to this since I could focus my eyes. I could do it in my sleep." Egon rolled his eyes.

"Okay Mr. Know-it-all, we'll just be on our way. C'mon guys."

-

"Chicken pox? Where in the world did he pick that up?"

"Well, the kid at this last job was spotty...I just thought he had bad acne."

"Uh-huh." Janine said skeptically.

"So, you'd just better stay down here. We need you more than him at the moment anyway." Peter winked conspiratorially.

"Dr. V, just go." Janine rolled her eyes.

"Hey, remember who signs your checks Melnitz."

"That would be Ray."

"Um...yeah. See you tonight." Peter said uncomfortably, & left.

Janine clucked her tongue. 'Serves Egon right. I should just leave him up there in itchy misery...'

-

Egon clicked on the tape recorder.

"Initial suspicions regarding Ectoplasm sample have proved correct. When applied to a fern, said plant was reduced to a seedling in approximately 2 hours. I am now taking samples from control plant & test plant to determine what chemical change has taken place."

He clicked the tape off.

"Now lets just see if this fountain of youth doesn't have a leak..."

-

Janine dutifully carried Egon's lunch up the stairs.

'I'll leave it for him. Just because he's a jerk, he doesn't need to die of starvation.'

She approached the lab door.

"Egon? I brought you some soup."

There was a small yelp & a crash from inside the lab.

Janine frowned. "Egon?"

"Leave it. You'll get sick." A hoarse voice growled from inside.

"Egon, you sound terrible."

"I'm fine." The same voice growled strangely.

"You sure? We've got some cough syrup in the-"

"Janine, please, **go**" The voice growled more harshly.

Janine glared at the door. "I'm going. Just don't expect to see me again any time soon."

She flounced down the stairs angrily.

'Who in the hell does he think he is? It's all about his stupid experiments. Well, lets just see if next time when his sorry ass needs saving I'm busy with a few 'experiments' of my own. Jerk.'

-

Egon slid a small mirror under the door and peered at it. Janine had gone. He sighed & opened the door to retrieve the soup.

'I'll explain this all when I've administered an antidote.' He thought. 'Knowing would only worry her unduly, and that's much worse than having her angry at me.

'Then again, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...'

Egon gulped.

-

Peter Venkman slid into the Ectomobile's driver seat.

"Nothing like a hard day's work." Ray said cheerfully, slipping in besides him.

"Yeah Ray, I hope there's nothing like it again." Peter groaned. "A class five...we really could have used Egon."

Winston climbed into the back. "Well, hopefully by now he's found a cure."

"Amen to that Zedd." Peter nodded & eased the car onto the road. "Lets get home and see how the boy wonder is doing."

Egon glared at the green test tube. He'd tried a number of things on the test seedling, most of them merely causing the plan to shed leaves.

'Maybe Ray will have a helpful insight...'

The familiar wail of the Ecto-1 reached him. He clicked on the recorder.

"No success in counteracting the anti-ageing formula. All tests negative, some causing harm to test subject."

He sighed as the tape wound down.

"Any calls Melnitz?" Peter approached the secretary.

"No." Janine glared at him.

"Ooookay, that's all I wanted thanks." Peter backed away.

"She's still mad at Egon?" Ray asked as the three headed upstairs.

"Madder I think." Peter shook his head. "If looks could kill, I'd be toast."

Winston smirked. "I told Egon to watch out for redheads."

"Hey!" Ray protested as they reached the lab.

"Egon, we're back." Winston knocked.

"Come in." A decidedly childish voice called.

The three busters shared a look of dejection.

"Guess he's still working on it." Peter pushed the door open. "Its a good thing we picked up some clothes for him."

Egon glanced up at them. "How did it go?"

"Fine." Peter set the bag down. "We picked up some stuff for you. Made any progress?"

"I've isolated the chemical that caused my mutation. I've named it 'Leonium'."

"After the Spanish explorer who went looking for the fountain of youth?" Ray asked.

"The very same." Egon climbed onto a stool and retrieved a test tube. "This is it."

"So, if that's what made you mutate, how can we reverse it?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure it can be reversed." Egon said quietly.

"What?"

"I initially thought this change was a true regression back to youth, but its not." Egon began, "My organs, while smaller, still retain all their wear and tear. The same goes for my skeletal structure. The bone bruise I sustained last week is still there. Only the outer cosmetics have changed. As such, I'm not sure I can do anything to change back."

The four sat quietly.

"Will you have to grow up again?" Winston finially broke the silence.

"There's nothing to grow up to." Egon said quietly. "I'm afraid I'm stuck this way."

-

END OF CHAPTER TWO


	3. Chapter 3

"Changes"

By GirlX2

Chapter Three

Thanks to my reviewers DuranDuranFan4Life, & Ellowyn. Feedback is Luved:)

-

"You're telling me your going to spend the rest of your life in the body of a six year old child?"

"Peter, its still the body of a middle-aged man, I just _look _like a child. Its much like plastic surgery."

"Oh, thank you very much Spengs, for clearing that up." Peter snapped sarcastically.

"Peter." Ray said quietly. "Give him a break."

"Yeah man, we'll figure this out." Winston placed a hand on his shoulder.

Peter shook his head. "Egon, we need to get you back to normal. You can't spend the rest of your life like that!"

"You think I want to stay like this? What am I supposed to tell Janine?" Egon glared at the doctor.

"Maybe there's something in Tobin's about ageing. There may be a ritual, or a rite..." Ray trailed off.

"I doubt it. There's been very few cases in history where someone has wanted to make themselves look older and restored to magic." Egon said doubtfully.

"Well, maybe I can find _something_ like this. A situation where someone got to much youth and needed to change back." Ray continued.

"For the last time, it's not true youth, I just look young. My physical age is still forty two. My lifespan will only last another thirty five years or so. I will just look like this for that span of time."

"Like hell you will." Peter growled. "We're going to find a way to reverse this."

"Peter-"

"What about sun tanning, or smoking? Those both cause per-mature aging." Peter grasped at straws.

"My health would just deteriorate." Egon said flatly.

"Then there's got to be some kind of anti-mutogen we can use...?"

Egon stopped cold. "An anti-mutogen."

"Could that work?" Winston asked.

"It's possible...but I'd need more ectoplasm. Fresh ectoplasm." Egon's eyes lit up. "But that shouldn't be a problem."

"We could just tie Peter to a stake and let the ghosts come to us." Winston grinned.

"Not funny Zedd." Peter said in a warning tone.

"We could combine new ectoplasm with anti-mutogenic partials. It's just like the Johannesburg experiment of 1942! Of course, Johannesburg used snails, but the principal is sound. It'll take some time..." Ray went into science-babble.

"It could be done." Egon said. "In theory, it could work."

Peter sighed with relief. "In that case, lets call it a night. We've all had a big day, and I think that mutated body of yours could use some sleep."

"I'm not tired." Egon stifled a yawn.

"Uh-huh." Peter raised an eyebrow. "You need to be fully rested. The last thing we need is a miscalculation, and you end up de-volving into a monkey."

Egon opened his mouth to argue about how inaccurate that statement was, but all that came out was another yawn.

"Besides." Peter led him towards the bedroom. "You need to think up a good apology for Janine, and that's gonna require mucho brainpower."

"Fine." Egon flopped into bed, to exhausted to argue. "That last one I agree with."

-

_Egon sat quietly as his parents explained to him-_yet again_-that the existence of the Boogyman was a logical anomaly._

"_We wouldn't lie to you about this sweetheart. You're scaring yourself over nothing." His mother chided gently._

"_So we can expect you to stop this foolishness Egon?"_

_  
"Yes father." Six year old Egon Spengler answered dutifully._

"_Good boy." His father nodded stiffly and left the room._

_His mother winked at him as she flicked on his nightlight._

"_Our little secret."_

"_Thank you Mother."_

_She smiled and shut the door._

_Egon's eyes flicked to the closet door. It was firmly shut and locked._

'_It can't get out. There's nothing in there to come out.'_

_The doorknob swiveled._

"_Its my imagination." Egon whispered desperately, "It's just my-"_

"_Eeeeegon..." A voice called from the closet. "Unlock the door Egon."_

_Egon whimpered and pulled the covers over his head._

"_If you don't let me out it will make me angry Egon. Do you want me to be angry?"_

"_You're just a figment of my imagination." Egon said from beneath the blanket._

"_Is that so?"_

_The lock clicked. Hinges creaked._

"_Lets find out."_

_Slow footsteps started toward the bed._

"_Egon." THUD. "You should have let me out." THUD._

_Egon whimpered, tears streaming across his face. He began to shake._

_THUD. "You tried to capture me twice now Egon." THUD. "It's time you paid."  
_

_'Capture?' Egon's mind raced, his memories speeding back. 'I'm not supposed to be here. This is wrong. Its a dream.'_

_The blankets were pulled off. The Boogyman stood over him, grinning toothily._

"_This is all a dream." Egon said haughtily._

"_Is that so?"  
_

_"Yes. You're safely stowed in the containment unit."_

_The Boogyman grabbed the shrunken Ghostbuster by his PJ collar and lifted him into the air._

"_Still so sure? Time to choke on your smugness, you little bastard." The creature shook him vigorously._

"_No!" Egon wailed. "Let me go! Help!"_

-

"Egon, wake up!" Peter gently shook the Ghostbusters's shoulders.

"Help!" Egon moaned, unable to come out of the nightmare.

Peter glanced around & spotted a glass of water on the nightstand. He grabbed it and poured the contents onto Egon's face. His eyes sprung open as he sputtered.

"P-Peter? Where is he?"

"Who?"

Egon's mouth opened, then shut abruptly. His eyes leapt to the closet door, which was closed.

"Egon, you were having a nightmare." Peter told him. "You're safe."

"Not a nightmare. A memory." Tears were trickling down his already wet face.

Peter wordlessly wrapped him in a hug. "It's alright Spengs."

Breaths hitched in the boy's chest. "I'm s-sorry P-Peter. I didn't mean to wake you..."

"Hey, no, its okay." Peter told him. "You've had a traumatic experience, its only natural you'd have nightmares. Believe me, I know."

Egon managed a small smile.

"You gonna be okay Spengs?"

Egon wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I think so."

"Alrighty then. You'd better change your shirt, I soaked you pretty good."

Egon nodded and slipped from the bed to retrieve a dry shirt.

"He's locked in the containment unit Egon. He can't get you."

"I know." Egon said as he slipped a new shirt over his head.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Peter said firmly.

Egon climbed back into bed.

"Tomorrow we'll get the new Ectoplasm, and then this will all be over."

"In theory." Egon said quietly.

"We're going to fix this, damnit."

Egon sighed. "Lets just get some sleep."

-

It took some fancy verbal footwork to stave Janine off for anther day, but Peter assured Egon that he'd done it.

"You just get everything ready for when we get back with the ectoplasm."

"It won't be difficult, I just need to combine a few chemicals." Egon said. "I can't do to much until I have the ectoplasm."

"Then just veg out for a while." Winston advised him. "It'll do you good."

Egon nodded. "Don't you guys have work to do?"

"We sure do, and we're going to be late. C'mon." Ray slid down the pole.

"Bye Spengs. Be good." Peter winked.

"Ha ha." Egon said without a trace of humor.

Egon flicked aimlessly through Tobin's. His meager preparations had been finished two hours ago, and the guys weren't due back for hours more. And he was getting hungry.

'Perhaps if I hurry Janine won't notice anything...' He began probability calculations in his head.

Finially, hunger outweighed reason, & Egon left the lab. He approached the fridge.

Egon rolled the sleeves of his gigantic lab coat back & opened the door. Day old pizza and tang confronted him. He shrugged and grabbed both.

"Egon, is that you?"

He froze as the familiar voice reached him.

"Uh..." He stuttered.

The brisk click of Janine's heels began up the stairs. Egon dropped the food and fled to the lab.

"Egon-" Janine caught a flash of white as Egon vanished into the room. "Egon, I wanna talk."

"Uh-huh." Egon coughed desperately, trying to deepen his voice.

"We've had a lot of fights lately, and well, its getting out of hand. I mean, you blew off our anniversary for experiments!"

Egon groaned slightly. He was already going through hell, and guilt added to it was not going to help. He silently cursed the fact that she was right. If he's just gone with her, none of this would have happened.

"I'm not sure if this relationship is good for either one of us anymore."

"What!" Egon yelped before he could stop himself. He slapped a hand to his mouth, eyes widening in horror.

"I guess what I'm saying is, we should break it off. And I'm giving you my two weeks notice."

"No, Janine-" Egon began, no longer caring about disguising his voice.

"Goodbye Egon. I wish you only the best." Her voice said coldly. The click-click went down the hall.

Egon stared hard at the door. He'd never before admitted it even to himself, but he cared deeply for Janine. For the first time in many years, emotion won out over logic.

"The hell with it." He flung the door open and raced into the hall. The click of Janine's heels had moved down the stairs. "Janine, wait!"

He raced after, trying not to stumble over his clothes. He caught sight of her in the main room. She stopped.

"Yes." She didn't turn around.

"Janine, look at me."

"I don't want to Egon."

"Please. You'll understand why I've been avoiding you."

Janine spun on her heels.

"I don't know what you're-" She stopped cold.

A little blond boy stood before her. He was wearing Egon's glasses & lab coat which were far to big for him, along with a non-descript white shirt, jean shorts & cheap sandals. He stared up at her, almost apologetically.

"I didn't want to scare you."

"Oh my God!" Janine's eyes widened in shock.

Egon shrank from the scream. "I can explain-"

"You bet you're going to explain! You're going to explain who you are and what you've done with Egon."

The little boy blinked owlishly behind Egon's glasses.

"Janine, its _me_."

"Where's Egon? Who sent you? Poso? Those goons from the alternative universe?" Janine demanded.

"I'm Egon!" Egon nearly wailed. "If you'd just listen-"

"The only person who's gonna listen is you when Dr. V gets here." Janine moved towards him.

"Janine, what are you doing?" Egon took a nervous step back.

"Just stand still, you little bugger." Janine growled.

Egon backed away, towards the front doors. "You're not being rational. If you'd think about this for a moment, you'll see that I'm me."

"Stop talking like him. God, you're probably not even human." Janine said coldly.

Egon glanced outside.

"Don't you _dare_-"

He fled.

-

END OFCHAPTER THREE


	4. Chapter 4

"Changes"

Chapter Four

Sorry for the wait y'all, but my col computer died, and I had to get a new one. Luckilly, I'd uploaded all the files for this story. :)

-

Egon panted for breath as Janine chased him down the streets of New York. He managed to ditch her in the alleyways near central park.

'Janine didn't even recognize me...' He sniffled. 'I'm alone in New York, with the body of a six year old child.'

An overwhelming urge to cry came over the Doctor.

'No!' He mentally shook himself. 'You're an adult damnit, and its time to start acting like one!'

The admonishment only upset him further. Egon cried quietly. He cried more these past two days than he had in the last two years.

'It has to be a side effect of the mutation. Over-emotionality. Once I'm back to normal, this will stop.'

He dried his face with the somewhat damp sleeve of his lab coat.

'That better. Now, I'm practically in central park. It'll be best to wait there, near a group of children if at all possible. If I wait a few hours, the guys will get back, explain this to Janine, and I can go home.'

He started toward the park.

-

"Dr. V, you've gotta bet back here right away. Egon's gone!"

"WHAT!"

"And that's not all. Some little imp or something pretending to be Egon just escaped into the city." Janine said breathlessly.

"What did he look like?" Peter asked, heart sinking.

"Blond, wearing Egon's clothes. Looked like a little boy, actually."

Peter sighed heavily. "Janine, there's something you need to know..."

-

"Peter, getting us all killed because you're speeding isn't going to help find Egon." Ray said as calmly as possible.

Peter ignored the younger man and proceed to blaze through a red light.

"Ray's right Peter." Winston wouldn't let his death-grip on the seat go. "Calm down."

"Egon is lost somewhere in New York and you want me to be calm!" Peter demanded.

"Most likely, he's fine. He knows this city. He'll probably be back at the firehouse by the time we get there." Ray said hopefully.

"Not with Janine on the rampage, he won't." Peter said grimly. "We've gotta find him. I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"He's gonna be fine Pete." Winston said thru clenched teeth. "Now slow your ass down."

"No offence Zedd, but shut-up."

-

Egon tried to look as nonchalant as possible while approaching a playground within the park. Blending in with the other children would be vital to mask the fact that he was alone.

He sat quietly watching the other children at play. Three of the children were arguing about something.

One of the girls broke off and approached him.

"Wanna be a Ghostbuster?"

"What?" Egon said sharply.

"We need a fourth person to be a Ghostbuster." The girl sounded exasperated. "We only have three."

"Um...alright." Egon stood up and followed back to the group.

"Here's your proton beam." She handed him a stick. "My name is Kayla. This is Bernice, and Sammy. What's you're name?"

"E-Eric." Egon stammered.

"Okay Eric. There's a bad ghost in this hotel, and its our job to bust 'im!" Kayla, obviously the leader, grinned. "Eric, you and Bernice take the stairs-" She pointed to the jungle gym. "And Sammy and I will take the top floor."

She and Sammy ran for the slide.

"C'mon Eric!" Bernice began to climb. Egon followed obediently.

"What do we do when we see a ghost?" Egon asked conversationally.

"We hit it with out proton beams, like this." Bernice whacked a bar. "Haven't you ever played Ghostbusters before?"

"Kind of." Egon blushed slightly.

"Good, because there it is!" Bernice yelled and jumped to the ground. "Lets go!"

Egon quickly un-scaled the structure.

'This is fairly random.' He thought while running after her.

"Kayla, its the marshmallow guy!" Bernice swung her stick at pure air. Egon opened his mouth to tell them it was a physical anomaly for Gozer to enter a hotel while in that form, but thought better of it.

"I'm comin' Bernice!" Kayla and Sammy ran to her. Egon swiped half-heartedly at the empty patch of air.

"We've gotta cross the streams!" Sammy yelled.

The three crossed their sticks.

"Eric, c'mon! Its the only way to beat the ghost." Kayla whispered.

"Oh...Okay." Egon touched the sticks.

"Argh, ack, oh no, ooh..." They fell onto the ground. Egon sat quickly.

"We did it." Kayla stood up, wiping 'marshmallow' from herself. "New York is safe again, thanks to the Ghostbusters!"

"Yea! Ghostbusters!" They cheered. Egon cheered right along.

'This is actually...fun!'

-

"Janine, please!"

"No." Janine buttoned her jacket. "I've gotta find him."

"Someone has got to stay here in case he comes back." Ray said desperately. "Peter and Winston have already gone, and I'm supposed to search the park. You have to stay here."

Janine bit her lip. "I chased him away, I should be out there looking for him."

"Its not your fault Janine, you didn't know. You've gotta stay here. Please?" Ray gave her the 'puppy eyes'.

"Alright Ray." Janine sat heavily on her desk. "But Egon is all alone out there. And with those brains in that body, that spells trouble."

"It'll be okay. You'll see."

-

"Bye Eric! See you later!" Sammy waved as his mother pulled him home.

"Bye Sammy!" Egon waved.

The Ghostbuster watched until his new friend was out of sight.

"Egon!" A loud yell came from behind. The startled blond spun around to see Ray approach. The other man locked him into a hug.

"Are you alight?" Ray demanded.  
"Yes Ray." Egon gaped for breath. "Aside from being able to breath."

"We've been worried sick!" Ray released him. "Gosh, we'd better call everyone and let them know you're alright."

"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" Egon asked as they walked toward the firehouse.

"Well, for one thing, you have the body of an eight year old, and you were all alone."

"Oh...Right." Egon frowned slightly. He'd been very distracted during the last few hours-he hadn't thought about it.

"Janine feels awful. I practically had to tie her to the desk to keep her from looking for you." Ray said.

"She's not mad at me?" Egon asked quietly.

"Nope, she just upset she chased you halfway to Jersey." Ray chuckled as they approached a main street.

Ray felt something tug at his sleeve. He glanced down.

Egon was holding his hand.

Ray opened his mouth to say something, but shrugged it off as they crossed the street.

'He's trying to blend in...The last thing we need is somebody figuring out what's happened and trying to use it against us.'

-

"See that? He's right there. Still in his jumpsuit."

"Yeah, I see 'im...What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Wait until they're on one of the back streets. Then we grab the kid."

"Are you sure it's his kid?"

"It's Venkman's alright. He and the chick split up, but they had a kid. He'd be that age by now."

"I still don't like it."

"You don't need to like it, you just need to do it! Damnit Joe, you don't do this and the boss'll have your head on a plate."

"Yeah, I got it." Joe muttered.

"Its a good thing Barry saw the kid come outta the firehouse, or we'd never have this little opportunity."

"Lucky us." Joe said half-heartedly.

-

"Ray, I don't feel so good." Egon said as they entered the back ally.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure..." Egon frowned. "But I think I need to take a closer look at the tests I did on myself. Something is wrong."

"All the more reason to get home as quickly as we can." Ray said.

"You're right." Egon nodded. "Let's just-"

"Lookout!" Ray shoved the Ghostbuster to one side.

A car was racing straight at them. Egon pressed himself close to the wall.

"Ray-"

"Just stay there!"

The car screeched to a stop between the two. The side door near Ray swung open. Egon glimpsed a gun pointed at Ray's head.

"The kid gets in or you both get wasted." A guttural voice growled.

"Take it easy fella." Ray had his hands up. "Do whatever you want to me, but leave the kid out of this."

"Ray, no!" Egon whimpered.

A man wearing a ski mask eased out of the car. He kept the gun trained on Ray.

"Get in kid, or he gets it."

"Don't do it." Ray pleaded. "I'll be alri-"

The man cocked the gun.

"By three." He growled. "One."

Egon shook his head. "I'm not going to let him hurt you Ray."

He stepped towards the car.

"No!" Ray yelled.

An arm snaked out of the car and grabbed Egon's coat. The miniature Doctor was pulled inside.

"You son of a-" Ray was cut short as the gun connected with the back of his head. He crumpled to the ally floor.

The man kicked him once in the ribs for good measure and returned to the driver seat. Joe had already duct-taped Egon's mouth shut. The terrified boy stared up at them, eyes wide.

"Put the bag on his head, he doesn't need to know where we're going." The other man ordered him.

Egon's world went black.

-

END OF CHAPTER FOUR


	5. Chapter 5

"Changes"

By GirlX2

Chapter Five

As always, I own nothing, except this new computer. :)

-

Peter paced the firehouse. "There's supposed to be a call, Goddamnit. What haven't they called with their demands!"

"Easy man." Winston laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Its all my fault." Ray mourned, shifting the icepack on his neck. "I should have stopped him."

"We're not gonna play the blame game." Winston said firmly. "We are going to stay calm. If we don't, we're not going to be able to help Egon."

Ray nodded. "Zedd's right."

Peter's green eyes narrowed on the auburn-haired man. "Egon is at the mercy of some ruthless kidnappers. I can't be calm!"

"Dr. V, if you don't calm down I'm gonna slug you." Janine staggered into the room.

"Janine, please, get some sleep. You've been up fifteen hours straight!" Ray pleaded.

"Not until Egon is safe." Janine said stubbornly.

'I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to him.' Peter thought, tears welling up. He blinked them back, anger replacing fear. 'If they hurt him, I swear, I will not rest until they pay.'

-

Egon shivered in the dark. His kidnappers had tied him to a chair, mouth still duct taped shut. His face was dirty from the sack, except where tears had cut a trail. One of the men looked at him with a slight hint of pity.

"Time to make the call." The second man dialed. "Ghostbusters? I wanna talk to Peter Venkman."

"Mmph!" Egon struggled.

"Quiet." The man growled. Egon shrank back. "Dr. Venkman? Good. I believe I have something that belongs to you." He paused. "Yeah, sure, you can talk to him. Un-tape the kid."

The tape was ripped from Egon's mouth.

"Ouch!" Fresh tears welled up.

Joe held the phone to his face. "Talk."

"Spengs?" Peter's voice wavered. "Are you okay?"

Egon's nerve broke.

"I want to go home!" He wailed.

Shh, Spengs, its okay." Peter's voice cracked over the line. "You'll be home very soon. I promise."

"I'm sorry about running away, I'll never do it again, I'm sorry!" Egon broke into loud sobs, his composure abandoned.

"Egon, please don't cry-" Peter began.

The phone was jerked away.

"See? He's still alive. And if you want him to stay that way-Shut the kid up!" The man snarled at Joe. Joe quickly taped Egon's mouth shut again.

Egon twisted, trying desperately to free himself. His chair tilted dangerously, nearly tipping onto the floor.

"We don't want to kill you, but we will if you make this difficult." Joe said quietly.

Egon sniffled and stopped rocking.

"-You got that? Okay. You bring the stuff, and you get the kid back. Alive. Yeah, yeah, alive and unharmed." The man nodded and hung up.

"Its a go?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, midnight at the park. You might be home tonight kid." The man leered at Egon.

Egon whimpered, fear glazing his azure eyes.

"Leave him alone Ed." Joe said softly. "He's about to wet himself."

"Sure thing Joe." Ed grinned sadistically.

Egon shook in the chair. He was alone, and helpless. He hung his head, cursing his cowardice with Janine.

'If I'd only told her I'd still be home.' He tried desperately not to cry again.

-

"Well, what do they want?" Janine pounced as Peter hung up the phone.

"They want a proton pack!" He said incredulously. "We're supposed to meet them in Central park at midnight with a proton pack."

"What would a bunch of criminals want with a proton pack?" Winston mused.

"Probably planning on breaking into fort Knox." Ray said darkly.

"It doesn't matter, because we're giving it to them." Peter said firmly. "What time is it now?"

"Its only nine." Janine said.

"Well, I'll just load go the spare pack into the Ecto-1..." Peter said quietly and left.

"I'm going to see about the antidote Egon was making. Maybe I can finish it so we can administer it when he's home." Ray left.

Janine said nothing. She was staring intensely at the door.

Winston shook his head slightly. "We need to stop the guilt trips. They're not gonna help anything."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who chased him away." Janine muttered.

"Damnit Janine, you didn't know. It was a natural reaction."

"It's my fault he's in danger." Janine's eyes locked on his.

"Its no ones fault! We all made mistakes over the last few days." Zedd growled. "If Egon had gone with you, it never woulda happened. If we'd told you, same thing, and on and on. We all need to stop re-hashing the past and concentrate on getting Egon home safe. That's the only thing that matters now."

Janine sat still. "You're right Winston, but its not gonna make a bit of difference to anyone."

Winston sighed. "I know."

-

Ray shifted a pile of paper from Egon's desk.

"He's usually so neat." He muttered.

Something caught the scientist's eye. He pulled a long piece of paper from the mess.

-

Peter sat listlessly in front of the TV. A familiar image flicked onscreen.

"Are you troubled by strange noises in the night?"

"Do you experience feelings of dread-" He shut the commercial off.

"Venkman!" Ray yelled as he slid down the pole. "Look at this!"

"What is it?" Peter's eyes stayed on the blank television.

"Its a brain scan Egon did earlier today. Look at the waves!" Ray shoved the paper into his face.

Peter's eyes flickered over the sheet.

"This is very abnormal for an adult..."

"But not very abnormal for a pre-pubescent child! Do you realize what this means!"

"It mean's that Egon really is regressing all the way back into a child." Peter paled.

"Yes, so even if the antidote doesn't work, he'll eventually grow up!" Ray grinned, "Isn't that great!"

"No!"

The grin vanished off Ray's face. "Why not?"

"Because Egon is rapidly losing his ability to think like an adult! Pretty soon we're going to have an eight year old Egon on our hands. We might not be able to change him back with the antidote without causing serious brain trauma! Add to that he's still with the kidnappers-" Peter cut himself off.

"Egon is still with those guys, and he's just going to get more and more scared as his mind shuts down." Ray said slowly.

"This is bad Ray, and its rapidly getting worse."

-

Egon shook helplessly as Joe carried him to the car.

"Calm down kid, we're taking you back to your dad." He said.

"Just put him in the trunk and lets get moving." Ed growled from the driver seat.

"I was going to put him in the backseat."

"And have somebody see him? The trunk." Ed glared at him.

"Ed, I don't think-"

"No you don't. Either he goes in the trunk or you do."

Joe shook his head. "I'm really sorry about this kid."

He gently placed Egon into the trunk and closed it.

'They're taking me to the guys...I'm going to be home soon and everything will be alright.'

Egon shifted, trying to get comfortable. Sad cerulean eyes locked onto the sliver of light the lid let in. He felt the car vibrate all around him as the engine started, and braced for impact. To his surprise, the car shifted gently from park to drive.

'Maybe some luck is finally going my way.'

The vibration soothed his tense body. He was so tired...

-

Peter got out of the car. "Where is he? He said be here at midnight, and its almost a quarter past."

"Easy." Winston joined him. "Remember calm?"

"Zedd-"

"No Pete," Winston's voice had an edge. "You're staying calm or I'm gonna knock you out. Getting angry could get Egon killed, and I'm not about to take that risk."

Peter was taken aback. "Okay Zedd. You're right."

Winston breathed deeply. "So, we just wait for them to hand Egon over, or what?"

"We've already put the Pack at the other end of this clearing. They're going to put it in the car, then let Egon go." Peter swallowed. "At least, that's the deal."

The rumble of tires moved towards them.

"This is it." Peter clenched his jaw.

-

END OF CHAPTER FIVE


	6. Chapter 6

"Changes"

Chapter Six

What a long strange trip its been. :) Hope Everyone enjoyed it! Now, for your reading pleasure...

-

"_I have an antidote ready." Egon announced from the stair landing._

"_Not right now Spengs, there's a couple goopers that need's trapping." Peter breezed past him without so much as a look._

"_I could come if I finish with-"_

"_Isn't it your bedtime?" Ray demanded as he hurried past._

_Egon sighed as his glasses slipped down his nose._

"_Would somebody just-"  
_

_"Janine, do something about Egon, he doesn't want to go to Bee-ee-dee." Peter stage-whispered to Janine._

"_I'm not a baby sitter Dr. V." Janine rolled her eyes. Peter gave her a pleading look. "Fine."_

_Egon felt a flush rise into his cheeks. "There's no need to treat me as if I can't spell."_

"_C'mon Egon, you we're supposed to be ready for bed already." Janine picked him up._

"_Janine!" He yelped. "This is degrading."_

"_Look at him. Only six and he's to old for his Auntie Janine to pick him up." Janine laughed._

"_I am not six, I am an adult, and I don't need to be carried!"_

_His pleas fell on deaf ears as Janine carried him upstairs. He was soon stripped and dunked into a tub of water._

"_Janine, this is insane-mmph!" Egon spat out a mouthful of soapy water that had been poured onto his head. "I can take care of this myself!"_

"_Egon, don't argue. The last time you were left alone in the tub you poured all the soap down the drain." Janine pulled the plug._

"_I did no such thing!" Egon protested. Janine ignored him and wrapped him in a towel._

"_You'd think after four years of this, you'd be used to it." She clucked her tongue._

"_I'm not four, I'm six! I mean..." He trailed off. The room seemed to have grown since they came in. Janine took advantage of his amazement and dressed him in footed pajamas. She scooped him into her arms._

"_Janine, listen to me!" He protested, attention snapped back. "I'm not a child, I just look like one. Something is affecting your mind!"_

"_Shh Egon, don't be fussy." She stroked his blond curls. Egon twisted helplessly._

_They entered a room Egon had never seen before. Light blue paint adorned it. Strange, grotesque cartoon characters cavorted on the walls. In the center of the room was a small white crib._

"_Pretty soon we're going to get you a big-boy bed. God, they grow up so fast." She placed him in the crib._

"_Janine, please!" Egon stood dumbstruck at the baby-voice that had come out._

"_Shh, its okay." Janine cooed. "Its beddy time."_

"_Why won't anyone listen to me!" Moaned Egon._

_His legs suddenly felt weak. He fell backwards onto his rear. Peter entered the room. He and Janine towered over the stricken blond._

"_How did everything go?" He grinned at Janine._

"_Fine Dr. V." Janine smiled. "He was a little fussy at first, but he calmed down."_

"_Peter-" Egon tried to say the man's name, but only incoherent babbling came out. His muscles grew weaker and he was forced to lay down._

'_I'm shrinking away to nothing and nobody realizes!' Whimpers burbled forth._

_Peter looked at him with a slight expression of amusement. " 'Night Egon."_

"_Just think." Janine said as she flicked the light off. "Soon he'll be crawling."_

_Egon stared in horror as the walls of the crib rose up around him._

"_No...No...Please, no!"  
_

-

Light flooded into Egon's vision.

'Janine-Peter-' His eyes locked on the figure above him.

Joe sighed. "Time to go home kid."

Egon's mind raced as he was lifted.

'A nightmare...I'm still in the body of a six year old...'

Joy flickered before fear hit him again.

-

"Spengs..." Peter watched intensely as a huge dark figure huddled over a smaller one.

The other man fired a test shot into the tree, sizzling several branches.

"Thanks for the beam Dr. Venkman." Ed leered at him. "Pleasure doing business wit' cha."

"Just let the boy go." Peter barely held back a snarl.

"He's fine. As soon as we're gone, you're free to collect him and go on your merry way." Ed loaded the beam into the now vacant trunk.

Winston and Peter stood silently as the two med got back in and pulled out of the lot.

Peter went from 0 to 60 in zero seconds. Winston panted, trying desperately to keep up with the taller man.

"If they hurt him..." Peter growled.

Winston nodded, unable to draw enough breath to answer.

Egon was leaning against a tall oak tree, hands and legs still tied. His mouth was covered with duct tape. His glasses had slipped from his face, and were hanging off one ear. At the sight of the Ghostbusters's approach, he strained at the bonds. Tears were rolling down his face.

"Oh God, Egon." Peter hugged him tightly. Winston was caught off guard. This was the most emotion he'd ever seen either man show.

"Winston, where's the knife?" Peter demanded while trying to remove the tape as gently as possible.

"I got it." Winston cut the cord around Egon's wrists. Peter detached the tape.

"Peter!" Egon clung desperately to the green-eyed man. He was sobbing.

"Its okay Spengs." Peter hugged him back.

Winston cut the final cord. "That's the last one."

"Lets go home." Peter picked the blond up. Egon buried his face in Peter's shoulder, sobs and whimpers still coming fourth. He was trembling.

-

The familiar siren roared into the firehouse. Ray stood stiffly, his ribs still aching from the blow. Janine sat nearby at her desk.

"Is he...?"

"Peter would have called if something was wrong." Ray said staunchly.

Janine nodded and joined the auburn haired Ghostbuster.

The driver side door opened. Winston slid out.

"Where's Egon?" Janine demanded.

He made a 'shush' gesture at the secretary and cocked his head toward the side door.

Peter emerged from the vehicle, Egon still clinging tightly to him.

"He's okay." Janine sagged with relief.

"Egon-" Ray rushed forward and hugged the smaller Ghostbuster, ignoring the pain in his side. Peter made a slight noise as the boy was crushed against him.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." Egon whispered.

"Its not your fault Egon." Ray tilted the angular face so their eyes met. "Okay? Not your fault."

Egon said nothing, but nodded. His arms remained firmly locked around Peter's neck, as if letting go would place him back in the nightmare he'd escaped.

"Lets get you into a warm bath. You'll feel better." Peter suggested.

Egon said nothing.

"I think we can mix the antidote tonight, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to use it." Ray said.

Egon nodded, eyes down.

Janine stood in front of him. "Egon?"

Blue eyes traveled up to meet hers.

"I'm so sorry." She embraced him.

Egon released his grip on Peter and clung to Janine, new tears falling on her blouse.

"Lets give them a minute." Peter motioned for the others to join him upstairs.

"We need to administer an antidote soon." Ray said once they were out of ear range.

"Egon is traumatized, Ray. This isn't the time to be pummeling him with science." Peter glared at the younger man.

"Pretty soon it won't be possible for him to change back even with an antidote." Ray replied. "I know he needs time to recover, but we just don't have it."

"He'll be better after a long sleep. We do have that much time, don't we?" Winston interjected.

"Um, I think so."

"Good. I'm gonna draw a bath." Peter said. "Just make sure he's up there in ten or fifteen minutes."

-

Egon lay in his own bed, hair still damp from his soak in the tub. He'd only gotten in long enough to wash the dirt from his face. Egon hadn't even removed his oversized glasses. Peter suspected the fair-haired Ghostbuster didn't want the other's out of his sight for any length of time.

"Its entirely possible he's going to have some degree of separation anxiety." The psychologist told the others. "He'll be okay, but we shouldn't leave him alone."

"You need to sleep Spengs." Peter approached him.

Egon shook his head. "Its almost dawn. I'll be fine."

"You nearly passed out on the way home." Peter insisted. "You need to sleep."

"No."

The stark denial surprised the brown haired man. "Okay, I'll bite. Why not?"

Egon's eyes traveled from Peter and lingered on the closet.

"Oh." Understanding lit on the taller man.

"Its not an escape I'm worried about." Egon said quickly. "I know logically he's trapped in the containment unit. But..."

"But what?"

"I've been having nightmares." Egon's voice dropped to a whisper.

Peter nodded knowingly. "That's a normal reaction Spengs, especially with what you've been through. But you still need to sleep."

"I think I may be too agitated."

"You're afraid."

Egon's cheeks reddened. "I prefer 'agitated'."

"Egon, its normal to be afraid."

Egon made no response.

"Tell ya what. I'll stay awake, and if it looks like you're having a bad dream, I'll wake you up." Peter said.

The blond thought about it for a moment. "Alright."

-

Peter sipped a his cup of coffee. Egon had entered REM, or dream sleep, half an hour ago. So far his dreams appeared to be pleasant enough, but Peter was loath to desert his post.

'I promised him nothing would happen, and it did. I'm not gonna break another promise.'

Egon wriggled under the covers, and muttered something.

Peter got a mischievous look on his face. He leaned closer.

"What was that Spengs?" He whispered.

"Peter..." Egon mumbled, obviously still asleep. "...Don't want..."

"Don't want what?

"...to be...'lone."

"You're not alone Spengs. I'm right here."

"No..." Egon's face twitched. "Only child...alone."

"Egon, you are not alone." He repeated. "We're all right here, and we're staying here."

Egon shifted again. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"...Thank you..." Egon muttered, less intelligibly than before. He sighed contentedly.

"No problem Spengs." Peter smiled as relief flooded his system. He allowed the Doctor to sink back into deep sleep.

-

"I've got the antidote ready." Ray announced cheerily as Peter came into the kitchen. "I just need Egon's help doing the finial calculations."

"How's the little guy doing?" Winston asked.

"He's gonna be okay." Peter grinned at them.

Relief washed over the others.

A small thump brought their attention to the stair landing. Egon stood there, small fist rubbing his eyes.

"Morning already?" He yawned.

"Early afternoon already." Winston corrected him. "We thought you needed the sleep."

"Thank you."

"The antidote is almost ready." Ray repeated.

Egon's eyes lit up.

-

"I installed a tracker in the proton beams, you know." Egon said conversationally. "We just need to give the co-ordinates to the police."

"You know, there's such a thing as being too prepared." Winston raised an eyebrow.

Egon shrugged as he added the final ingredient to the slimy mixture.

"So, how long will this take to work?" Ray inquired.

"Not long. In a day or so I should be back to normal." Egon peered over his glasses at the test tube. "Although, I am not looking forward to experiencing adolescence again, however briefly."

Peter snorted into his drink. "You were a chess geek, weren't you?"

"Certainly not." Egon sounded offended. "I was in the computer club."

The Ghostbusters kept a straight face for a few moments before breaking up.

"Spengs, just take the damn stuff before we get to far sidetracked down memory lane." Peter chuckled.

Egon obliged him by drinking the contents of the beaker.

"Eww." Peter made a face. "That's nasty."

"That was easier than rubbing it into the skin." Egon shrugged.

"So how can we tell if its working?" Winston asked after a moment.

"Easy." Ray picked up a syringe. "Simple blood test."

Egon's eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "Um...yes. I forgot about that."

Peter patted his shoulder in sympathy. "S'ok Egon. I'll give you a lollypop if you don't struggle."

Egon's eyes narrowed at the taller man. "You know, I seem to remember a certain psychologist who had a pronounced case of squeamishness in college."

"Oh yeah, your opinion is real valid. You love weird fluids so much you slept with the mood slime!"

Egon's cheeks flushed. A slight pressure drew his attention back to Ray.

The occultist withdrew a red needle. "There. Just gotta run it through the analyzer."

Peter smirked at the boy. "I still got it."

Egon gave a mock sigh of exasperation. "I suppose I should have seen that coming."

A loud beep drew everyone's attention to the analyzer. Ray nodded at the read-out.

"Yeah, here we go...its the same as before, but in reverse. You did it Egon."

"Alright, the boy genius still has it." Peter grinned and punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"I didn't doubt it for a second." Obvious relief flowed into his features.

"Yeah right. Lets do something to celebrate." Winston said. "Ice cream?"

"Sounds good." Peter rose. "Egon, tell Janine she's invited."

They glimpsed a small grin on the physicist's face before he took off for the fire pole.

"They grow up so fast." Peter wiped a mock tear from his eye.

The three remaining Ghostbusters began laughing and went to join their friends downstairs.

-

THE END


End file.
